So You Want to Be a Huntsman?
by dinodares314
Summary: When you're not good enough to become a Huntsman-in-Training, you will seize any opportunity to get more power, even if it is from your talking childhood book. Now the biggest threat in his life aren't the Grimm but entropy itself. Becoming a Wizard is a lot more work than Jaune realized...
1. In Life's Name and for Life's Sake

AN: Hey guys, sorry to start out with an author note, but I hope you enjoy this story. This story does draw major inspiration from the Young Wizards series by Diane Duane so if you enjoy the basis of Wizardry, do check that series out. My PMs are open to everyone, and I hope you enjoy the story.

* * *

The blonde teen closed the door on the boisterous noises of celebration pouring out of the building behind him. The darkness of the night enveloped him as he moved away from the bright lights of Signal, its iconic beam of light piercing the still night sky.

He had known what was going to happen from the moment he had arrived at the event. All his classmates would be called up one-by-one to receive their diplomas and awards certifying them as Signal Academy Senior Students, the final step before becoming Huntsmen-in-Training. They would walk up to the headmaster, smile for their families, exchange a few polite words with their teachers, and then triumphantly walk back to the bright smiles of their friends. All, except one.

Jaune had only gone to the ceremony to cheer for his friends in their moment of success. They all had worked to their limits for the past few years to graduate as Huntsmen-in-training and Jaune wanted to be there to celebrate his friends' success, even if he couldn't his own. Only after all the ceremony was concluded, and the carefully maintained aura of decorum dispelled, had Jaune made his exit. Everyone was at the party, too distracted to notice his exit.

His eyes traced the cracks in the sidewalk and his feet moved on autopilot through the dark streets and alleys of Vale. The light from the streetlights ebbed and flowed and his shadow lengthened and contracted in time. His smile had faded, and his shoulders slumped. He wrapped his arms around himself to ward off the chill breeze rolling in from the harbor. The thin cotton fabric of his suit did nothing to stop it.

He moved into the alleys earlier than he usually did to get out of that piercing gale. This alley was far darker than the one he usually went through; the restaurant owner had lit up that alley and used it as a delivery entrance. This alley had nothing but trash, boxes, and…was that a mugging?

Two large, muscular men in black stood in the middle of the alley, their backs to him. One of them pushed a small, mouse-like man against the brick wall and was gesturing with a knife. Jaune froze. Every kid at Signal had fantasized about such a scenario and had played it out dozens of times in their daydreams. They would swoop in like a majestic angel, destroy the evil-doers, and be proclaimed heroes. Everyone would applaud, and their name would be known by everyone in the city. It was a childish dream and they all knew it, but it kept them going through the hell of their rigorous coursework.

One fantasy that Jaune indulged in often started with him uttering a rousing battle cry and rushing a mugger with his shield, bashing him to the side. He would then use the flat of his sword to push the second guy backwards into the third guy while bringing his shield back around to block the fourth guy's bullets. A flying shield bash later, he would knock the third guy out with another swift bash to the head. Making sure everyone was unconscious, he would turn to the poor victim and give them a dazzling smile and a quick one-liner, often ending with them staring in awe as he helped them up. Liking the plan, and noting that there were only two belligerents (_hey, two means twice as easy, right?_) Jaune bellowed his battle cry and bull rushed the man closest to him.

However, his rousing cry was more of a loud whimper and the man was far enough away that he could turn and stand his ground. Jaune's shield stopped dead at the man's chest. His momentum pushed him forwards and his wrist folded into the inside of the shield where he had improperly tightened the strap. The strain on the wrist immediately broke it and rolled off the wide man onto the ground clutching his hand and whimpering in pain.

"That was _pathetic_, kid." The unmoved goon was shaking with laughter.

"Hey, that kid's from Signal." The second goon hadn't moved a muscle while his victim was staring at Jaune, something approaching pity in his eyes. _God this was humiliating_.

"How can ya tell?"

The second goon nodded at Jaune's sword, which he had accidentally kicked away in his fall. "Too expensive to be a normal defense weapon. Too old-school to be some rich kid's attempt at showing off. Coming from that side of town, probably was at the graduation today, going by the suit."

"Smart-ass." The first goon picked up Jaune's sword from next to his still groaning body, ignoring the boy's weak protests. "What do you think it's worth?"

The second good cocked his head. "Ten percent of my share of the ThaloCorp job."

"Twenty."

"Fifteen. Bet the thing doesn't even have a proper mechashift."

"Fine, done deal. No take-backsies when you cut yourself twirling it."

The second man half-grunted half-chuckled and turned back to the original victim. "Feeling convinced yet?"

The man's eyes widened, and he nodded as much as he dared, the cold steel at his throat discouraging most movements. The first mugger held up the victim's scroll, into which the victim typed a few codes in.

"Hell yeah dude, 10,000 lien! Knock 'em out and let's get outta here."

* * *

The alleyway was deserted when Jaune came to. He shook his head and started to get up, only to hiss in pain as his left hand contacted the ground. _Oh, right. _He slowly got up, feeling the pain in his broken wrist with every movement. His sword and shield were gone, but at least the muggers had the decency to not take his scroll. The glowing, now broken, screen lit up his face. It was about eleven, which meant that he had more than enough time to get home before his curfew of midnight. His parents had taken the opportunity of his absence to go on a date and his sisters would be fast asleep.

At least something was going his way tonight.

Jaune's shame-filled walk back home was uneventful, but his mind was in turmoil. He had not only failed to graduate with the rest of his peers at Signal but had managed to get shut down by two muggers that he had attacked first. It was beyond pathetic!

There was almost nothing that could act as an excuse: he had been training for combat against humanity's greatest enemies, enemies that had plagued civilization before it even existed. He should've managed to get more than one hit in! _Wouldn't have mattered, they had basic auras. Even after 2 years, I can't fight worth a damn… _

His leg lashed out at a can, bouncing across it the street and rousing the stray dogs in a nearby alley. _I shouldn't have taken Crocea Mors for the graduation. My parents were right. I don't deserve it yet._

_Or maybe ever. _

A breeze kicked up and Jaune had to blink the dust out of his eyes. Tears leaked out the corner of his eyes and he hastily wiped them away. It wouldn't do to be crying out in public. Maybe later, in the privacy of his room he could let out his true feelings.

The rest of his walk back home was uneventful. He quietly let himself into his home, making sure not to make any noise; he had no wish to handle his sisters until his parents got back. He slipped upstairs, his footsteps as silent as he could make them, something he could apply from his Signal education. He dodged into his room and made a beeline for the bed. Not bothering to change his clothes he fell onto his bed, only to shoot straight up as something poked into his back.

He shifted his sheets around to find the offending item: a book, one of the first he had ever read, and which had influenced his life's decisions. It was a book called _'So You Want to be a Huntsman?_' and had been bought from a school book fair with money he had saved up for weeks. He had read it so many times he had just about memorized the entire thing. He sat onto the bed rubbing his sore back and smiling melancholically.

It was a children's book, basically Huntsmen propaganda that detailed how awesome it was to be a Hunter and how they were basically saving humanity from destruction daily. It was designed to get as many children interested in the job as possible to get a large pool of potential recruits. Jaune smiled as he stroked the familiar cover depicting a team of Huntsmen standing side by side, fearless smiles on their heroic faces as a teeming horde of Grimm rushed them down. It was cheesy and unrealistic, but that was part of why Jaune liked it so much.

He traced his fingers along the worn pages, remembering the long nights as a kid spent under a blanket with a flashlight. They brought him a sense of melancholy and nostalgia and he gripped those feelings tightly.

He opened the front page carefully, his mind unfocused, which led to him not noticing the changed layout of the title. He kept turning the pages, skipping past the dedication and table of contents onto the introduction. However, instead of finding the exceptionally cheesy introduction to the world of Hunting, he found something…else.

_**In Life's name and for Life's sake,**_

_**I assert that I will employ the Art which is its gift in Life's service alone, rejecting all other usages.**_

_**I will guard growth and ease pain. I will fight to preserve what grows and lives well in its own way; and I will change no object or creature unless its growth and life, or that of the system of which it is part, are threatened.**_

_**To these ends, in the practice of my Art, I will put aside fear for courage, and death for life, when it is right to do so — **_

_**till Universe's end.**_

_What the hell?_ He was sure this had never been part of the book. Had he somehow picked up one of his sisters' books in his fatigue? Jaune glanced back at the title of the book.

_So You Want to be a Wizard?_

"Ok. Hold up. What is going on?" Jaune spoke aloud in disbelief. He put the book down and took a few deep breaths to wake himself up. This was 100% his fatigue, he was just hallucinating after the mugging. A part of his mind was still struggling with how he would explain the loss of Crocea Mors to his parents tomorrow, but he ignored it and went back to the more immediate mystery of the book.

The title still contained the changed title. Jaune rubbed at the text, half expecting it to come off and be revealed as one of his sisters' pranks. It didn't budge. He opened the cover. The same, altered, title was on the title page, but much more brilliant. It shone as if it was more than new, glowing with an inner light that mesmerized him. He flipped a page onto the table of contents, which was filled with topics beyond anything he had ever seen.

_**Chapter 1: The Speech**_

_**Chapter 2: Compression of Worldlines and Introduction to Wormholes**_

_**Chapter 3: Determent of Geodesic Vacillation**_

_**Chapter 4: Thermodynamic Conversations**_

Jaune squinted at that last one. Maybe it was a typo? Maybe they meant to write 'conservation' or 'conversions'? That was something taught in school at least. He scanned the page, noting the 8 or so chapters listed along with their page numbers, then flipped the page.

It was another page of contents. Jaune's eyes widened in surprise and he continued to flip through. Each heading was more fantastical than the last, with topics that seemed to have no clear pattern but grew more and more specific, if their title lengths had anything to say. It was clear by the fifth page that there was no way all the contents listed in the table were in the book. After all, the book was a mere 100 pages and the third page of contents went to Page 323!

He closed the book in a hurry and stared at it. From the outside it looked much the same as it had for the past 5 years of his life, worn and dusty (though he preferred 'well-loved'). Except for the change in the title, Jaune would have thought it the same book.

Jaune decided to humor his waking dream and reopened the book near where he had left off. Rather than showing the table of contents where he had left off, it had a completely different page, with text appearing in front of his eyes.

**Hi there! You must be mighty confused right about now. Allow me to introduce myself before we start with the explanation. I'm your Wizard's Manual. What is a Wizard and why do they need a manual? Good question. A Wizard is a sentient being tasked with the task of slowing down the increasing entropy of the universe, through whatever means necessary. **

**Some of the easiest methods are simply causing the least chaos. After all, entropy is a measure of the chaos and disorder in a system. Paying your taxes, following rules, and being friendly are all ways one can minimize the local increase of entropy in their everyday lives. There are also other, harder ways to do so as well. All of these include fighting the machinations of the Lone Power, either indirectly or directly.**

_The Lone Power? What…?_

**Forgive me, I got ahead of myself there. Of course, you don't know about the Lone Power. We'll get to all that later. **

Jaune's grip tightened on the book. _How did it know what I was thinking? _

**Excuse me, your grip is quite uncomfortable. Would you mind relaxing it? **

Jaune almost dropped the book.

**There, that's better. Anyways, as I said, I'm your Manual. You'll understand what's going on once I get through this explanation. Anyways, as I was saying, as you've undoubtedly read in the Wizard's Oath, your job is to protect life in all its forms for as long as you can, delaying the death of the universe as much as you can. **

_Um, what if I say no?_

**That would be perfectly alright. Being a wizard is a choice, and no one will force you into a role that you do not wish to occupy. Especially not one with danger such as this, or the energy investment that will go into you. **

"Hold up. Energy investment?" Jaune spoke aloud reflexively.

**You don't necessarily need to speak out loud, I can understand you just fine. As I was saying, yes, an energy investment. Wizardry is a gift, but more than that it is an immense investment of energy. Energy that could have been used elsewhere, in our endless combat against entropy. Wizardry is only offered to those who are deemed to be trustworthy enough to be given such a responsibility. **

"Given? By whom? Is there a council or something? God? Gods?"

The book seemed to flutter slightly. If it wasn't an inanimate object, Jaune would have suspected it of laughing.

**They have been called that, by many millions of civilizations across the eons. They are however not gods in the way that you think. They are closer to being the universe itself, in a way. **

"I'm not sure I understand."

**One name for their collective is the Powers That Be. They were not created nor destroyed, for the definition of existence must have a domain. They came into existence along with our universe, and set about exercising their powers, molding the virgin spacetime however they saw best. Some created matter, others created the interactions between matter and energy. Others created clusters and seeded them to produce beautiful neutron stars. Others created life of all kind across the universe. Amongst all of creation, one Power, the Lone Power, different from everyone else, sought to create something to stand the test of time. **

**It watched and waited. It saw all of creation and decided upon a invention that would have consequences for every single Power forever. His creation was ingenious in its simplicity. A single sentence. **_**Entropy Always Increases.**_** Three words, and the Lone Power created death, disease, ruin in one fell sweep. Misery and jealousy, harm and sorrow all followed in suit and the utopian universe was forever marred. He created the concept of an ending, and in doing so doomed the universe. **

"So he basically infected the universe with a virus?"

**That is a…very simplistic way of looking at it, but yes, he introduced unwanted code into the source of the universe in a way that caused issues for the users. If that's what you meant, then you are correct.**

"Wow. I need a minute to think about this. Can I get some privacy?"

**Go ahead. Put me down and take all the time you want. **

Jaune set the manual down and lay on his bed, mind moving a thousand miles an hour. If what the manual said was true, then Wizardry sounded an awful lot like becoming a Huntsman. Both their ultimate goals were about protecting life from whatever threatened it, with Wizardry seemingly having a much larger scope. Half of the scientific talk the Manual had expressed had gone over his head, but what he understood was simple. The Lone Power had apparently screwed the universe over, and Wizards were created as a response, to increase the lifetime of the universe and reduce suffering.

More importantly, Wizardry would give him power. Jaune hated to be so selfish in the face of what his manual had been telling him, but after what had happened today, a wish for more power just wouldn't leave his mind. He had to get more powerful to become a Huntsman, and if Wizardry could give him that power, he would take it. In the end, both seemed to be just counterparts of each other. Defeat the baddies and save the world. Couldn't be that hard, could it? He sat up, new confidence flowing through him.

**Ready to take the Oath? There is no harm in denying it. Wizardry is not for everyone, and you should not accept it with doubt or second thoughts in your heart. **

"None whatsoever. I'm sure of this."

**Open the book, any page will do. You will find the Oath there. **

Jaune flipped the book open and stared at the words on the page, making sure of the pronunciation before beginning with a deep breath. "In Life's name and for Life's sake…"

As he spoke the words out loud, the universe leaned in to listen. His words seemed to make the air itself tangible and he could swear he saw the vibrations in the air. The light from outside grew brighter and brighter and his mind whirled. He couldn't move and couldn't stop reading. The universe grew closer and closer, the light grew brighter, everything swirled around him, and he felt lighter and lighter until…

"till Universe's End."

He spoke the last word, something clicked, and everything snapped back to normal. Jaune blinked and waited for something to happen. He didn't know what a sudden activation of magic powers felt like, but he was 100% sure that it didn't feel like you were the latest victim of a practical joke. The page he was on was blank with no sign of the Oath he had just taken. He closed the book to the cover, and in bold letters was:

**So You Want to Be a Huntsman**

Jaune flipped through the book, only to find that the entire thing was exactly as he remembered. There was no mention of Wizardry, no magically appearing words, no seemingly infinite table of contents. Just his old, dog-eared, unassuming children's book.

The hope he had built up crashed around him and he threw the book at the wall. It landed on his dresser inexplicably closed, but Jaune had already burrowed himself into his covers, hoping to lose himself in the void of sleep to escape the disappointment of reality.

His dreams were chaotic, wild, and confusing. He tried to run from unseen threats, through darkness and flashes of light. A whale of pitch blackness tried to drown him, only for him to escape into a thicket of trees where the sky tried to fall on him. The ground opened up under him and he saw silver animals scurry about in their burrows. His fall became horizontal and he was flying away from a flock of black birds that seemed to merge and split into more by the minute.

He flew over featureless landscapes that looked both blasted and unshaped at the same time. Great plains made way to oceans and his flight curved upwards into the moon. It seemed larger than it did in reality and filled his vision, growing brighter and brighter, blinding him with white, it sung to him, he must fly to it, it called him…

Jaune….Jaune….

"JAUNE!"

Jaune bolted upright. He was still in his bed; the brightness was simply the early morning sun angling into his room. He squinted around his room to see his dad in the doorway patiently waiting for him to fully wake up.

"I'm up, it's cool." Jaune mumbled as he rubbed his eyes. "Give me five minutes."

"Alright kiddo. I just wanted you to know that your mom and I are taking your sisters to the park. You want to tag along? I know you've had a pretty late night."

Jaune smiled blearily. His dad understood him like no one else. Any other day he would've happily gone with his family, but his dad knew that he would like some time alone to think over recent events and his future. Of course, he didn't know about the mugging or about losing Crocea Mors…

_What am I going to do about Crocea Mors?! _Jaune almost had a panic attack right there but kept it together enough to shake his head no.

"Breakfast is on the table. Blueberry pancakes. Get 'em while they're hot!" His dad walked off, eager to return to his favorite breakfast. Jaune waited for his footsteps to retreat down the stairs before leaping out of bed and shutting the door. He had to be calm and think methodically. It was what was drilled into them at Signal after all, and the only thing he was remotely passable at.

_Step One: Identify the Goal. Easy: getting Crocea Mors back in his possession. _

_Step Two: Identify potential roadblocks. Easy: getting murdered getting his sword back from trained criminals. _

_Step Three: Eliminate the roadblocks in your path. Difficult. Very difficult. He would have to fight them or trade them for it. He had no money and very questionable ability to face them down. _

_Step Four: Execute. Not remotely possible. _

Jaune huffed and sat down with his head in his hands. This would not do. He had to get his sword back within a few days. He could delay his parents from finding out for a week or so max, but anything beyond that was risky territory. They would get suspicious, and the later the truth came out, the worse it would be for him.

_Maybe I could just tell the truth now and hope they're not _too _mad? _

He almost laughed out loud. No matter how much they loved him, they would be mad and disappointed in him. He felt it whenever his exam results came back, no matter how much they tried to hide it behind words of encouragement or offers to train him themselves. He declined them every time. The only subjects he was good at were the theoretical subjects, like History or Strategy. He was hopeless in Personal Combat and that was really what everyone went to a Combat School for.

He had to start to become independent sooner than later and having his parents hold his hands while in a Hunter Prep school was less than optimal. His gaze roamed his room and settled on the book he had thrown the night before and something twisted in his gut. Everything had seemed so real yesterday. He couldn't have imagined an entire conversation with a book, could he? Especially not the Wizard's Oath; he wasn't nearly smart enough to come up with that subconsciously.

Feeling like a fool, he got up. Feeling like an absolute moron he moved to his dresser and picked up the book. Hoping against hope he flipped the book over.

**So You Want to Be A Huntsman?**

Jaune felt something fall inside him. No, there was no way. All of it couldn't have been an illusion! His hands tightened on the book and warmth spread across his body. His shut eyes did not notice the pulse of energy that traveled outward from him and through the walls, much like a magical strum of a guitar. All he could feel was his refusal of the situation. There was no way it was all fake; some of it _had _to be real!

He sighed and tried to move back to the bed but couldn't. His body felt like it had been frozen, trapped in invisible ties. He felt his body grow hotter, his hands clammy, and forehead sweaty. Drops rolled down his face and into eyes as he felt something surge inside him, starting at the base of his feet and travel through him to his head where it pooled. His skull strained as if holding back an explosion and before he knew it that pressure behind his eyes dissipated and his temperature fell back to normal as if nothing had happened. His shaky legs gave out under him and he fell to the ground, still tightly clutching the manual.

**Congratulations, Jaune! **A voice spoke in his head. **You are now a Wizard!**

* * *

AN: Reviews, PMs, criticism, praise, discussion, etc are all dearly awaited dear readers. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you have any ideas for the cover art of this story I'd love to hear them. Or any of my other stories to be honest haha.


	2. Conversations with a Book

**Congratulations, Jaune! **A voice spoke in his head. **You are now a Wizard!**

Jaune started at the voice. It wasn't in his head, per se, but it most definitely wasn't audible. But he had heard it. He felt another headache come on.

**Down here, dummy!**

There it was, again. He glanced around the room and, feeling extremely foolish, opened the pages of the manual.

**There we go. Welcome, new Wizard.**

Jaune stared at the manual. The voice was coming…from the manual. Words were appearing on the page, but Jaune could understand the book through another means as well. It was the shaking of the pages in the breeze, the rustle of the paper. However abstract this method was, it felt more…real than normal speech.

**It's called the Speech. Everything in this Universe speaks it. **

Jaune blinked.

**You're pretty much shouting into the void right now. I'm surprised your door hasn't said anything.**

"My door?" Jaune said weakly. He had lost it. There was no other explanation. He was bonkers. Off his rocker. Lost his marbles.

**Yes. Well, no, you're not crazy. You are like a newborn and your wails are heard by everyone around you. You'll need to learn to quieten yourself; it will be one of the first things you will learn in your lessons. **

"Lessons? Is there a school to learn this…this…"

**Speech.**

"Yeah, Speech. Do I have to sign up, where do I go? Who do I talk to?" Jaune had horrible flashbacks of him asking almost the same questions before starting his path to become a Hunter. "Is the Speech how you were understanding me before? Even if I didn't speak out loud?"

The book seemed to chortle. **Curiosity is a hallmark of a Wizard. I think you shall go far. Anyways, introductions now that you are **_**officially **_**a Wizard. Hello, I am now your Manual and your one stop-shop for everything Wizardry. Pleased to meet you..**

"I'm Jaune Arc, and likewise." Jaune sat back on his bed and made himself comfortable._Wizard? _After all the twists of the past night, he decided to keep an open mind about everything, no matter how outlandish the thing was. "Are you going to teach me the Speech?"

**I shall be your primary source of knowledge on the language yes.**

"When can we begin?" Jaune made up his mind. Even if this was some sort of elaborate hallucination or dream or what have you, he was going all in.

**We already have. Just by conversing with me your ability to sense the Speech will increase and your intuition will only grow from there. Exposure to the Speech is a positive feedback loop. The more you are exposed, the more you understand and the more exposed you become. **

"Then what's there to learn?"

**Knowing and language and being able to wield it are entirely separate skills. You are like a growing child. You are being exposed to the language through your childhood, allowing you to absorb it and have understanding come naturally to you. You will eventually also learn to communicate socially. However, what you will not learn naturally is the ability to express abstract ideas, to convince, debate, argue. You will not gain the ability to communicate anything beyond rough wants and needs and you will forever see your skill stunted.**

"What's the point?" Jaune asked before he could stop himself. He was still thinking about getting strong enough to get into Beacon. The words of the Oath had already faded to the back of his mind. "I mean, it's not like I'm going to discuss literature with a fence. Can we do this later and move on to Wizardry?"

If a book could appear furious, his manual would have been the picture in the encyclopedia. Jaune almost gasped at the sudden tension and the sudden pulse of energy that shook the air around him like a drum.

**Do not be foolish. A Wizard never assumes, and he never makes up his mind before he has all the facts. Doing so is one of the most dangerous things one can do, not to mention the far-reaching consequence of doing this on a mission. Do you wish to be the cause of the death of an entire solar system just because you were not aware of the intricacies of how a star thinks? Do you want a volcano to kill millions of individual life forms just because you insinuated that his lava stream was too slow?**

The words rang thunderous in Jaune's mind, driving the point home with each word. He opened his mouth to speak but it continued its tirade.

**Do not speak of things you do not have knowledge of yet. Learn everything. Do one thing: regret nothing. Understood?**

Jaune dumbly nodded.

**Good. **The manual calmed. **Now to answer your question, no you cannot perform Wizardry without the Speech. Wizardry is the Speech and the Speech is Wizardry. To elaborate, Wizardry is the act of convincing the universe into doing whatever you ask of it. Your garden is being eaten by aphids? Talk to their guardian ants to moving somewhere else. Your car is acting up? Sort out the issues plaguing its components and it will run better than new. Your star is acting up? Solve its sunspot problem and it just might be gracious enough to do you a favor. You see the pattern. **

Jaune could indeed see where this was going. "And all this is done through the Speech?"

**Precisely. Your mastery of the Speech will determine your ability to communicate your ideas clearly and concisely. It will allow you to define both your intentions and their object clearly to ensure the highest efficiency of your spells. **

Jaune blinked, a small grin creeping onto his face. _Now we're talking. _Outwardly, he maintained the appearance of a chastised, curious student. "Spells? Are they done in the Speech too?"

**Good attempt, but you forget you are an open book. **His Manual smirked.** Yes, Wizardry will give you power. I will not tell you what to do with that power as imposing restrictions and giving commands are things that ultimately are the domain of the Lone Power. The Powers That Be saw potential in you, potential for you to use this gift of power to fight back and protect the universe. You are free to use it how you wish. That is part of the risk of creating a Wizard. **

**All I will say is, remember your Oath. Remember what is at stake here for the universe. Then make your best decision. I am your manual; I will assist you to the best of my abilities to achieve whatever goal you want to achieve. **

Jaune licked his lips. _Wow, that was, that was some heavy stuff. Though if I have to be honest, fighting Grimm should count as fulfilling my purpose as a Wizard right? I should be fiiiine._

The manual remained silent. Jaune stared at it, waiting for a reprimand for trying to bypass the rules or something like that.

"Uh, hello? Manual?"

**I am here, Jaune. **

"Do you have anything more to say?"

**I have said all I need to on this matter. You are a Wizard now, your decisions are your own.**

"Ok. Ok. Ok." Jaune muttered. He took in a deep breath while he thought about what he was going to do. "First things first, I want to learn as much of the Speech as possible and how I can create spells. Is that fine?"

**That is the standard path most follow, which is why it's part of Chapter 1.**

"Are you saying that I'll learn about wormholes directly after the Speech?!" Jaune wasn't sure if the manual was pulling his leg. "Aren't they…unimportant? I mean worms have to get around somehow. And what are worldlines anyways?"

The book 'blinked' in surprise. **We shall not learn about wormholes right after the Speech. The reason that was Chapter 2 was simply a matter of random placement. As you've seen, my entries are dynamically generated for the best use for you. Whatever you wish to learn next will be the next chapter. Thought I daresay I have my work cut out for me in the astrophysics field. Worms indeed…**

"Astrophysics?" Jaune recognized the word. "Isn't that like the study of the stars and the moon?"

… The journal didn't respond for a few seconds. **Forgive me. I had your species confused with another. I shall begin constructing a new learning plan for you.**

"What other species?"

**A species quite like yours, but far away. I daresay our little chat is about to be interrupted.**

"Wha…" Jaune flinched as his door burst open and his youngest sister burst into the room carrying about as much energy as a small bomb. She ran straight into him and bowled him over onto the bed.

"Whyaren'tyoucomingwithusbrotherpleasepleasepleasewe'llhavesomuchfunpleasepleaseplease!"

Her shrill excited voice almost deafened him as she shrieked at the top of her lungs right next to his ear. He grabbed her and started tickling her, drawing giggles and excited shouts. He finally got her to tire out and she lay down on the carpet, giggling quietly to herself. The 6-year-old was the headache of the house; her limitless energy more than a match for everyone but Jaune.

"Sorry Rouge, I have some work I need to do." He put his finger over his mouth before loudly whispering. "Secret Hunter business."

"But Mom said that you'd be free after your party yesterday! Come on, please!" Her eyes grew wide and her hands came together, clasping near her chin. "Pleeease!"

Jaune sighed deeply. There went his plans for the afternoon. He could never say no when she did this. "Fiiiiine." He hurriedly interrupted her cheer of joy before she could run out of the room to deliver the happy news to the rest of the family in tones that he was sure his neighbor could hear. "Two conditions."

Her eyes narrowed, she stared him down with hands on her hips and a large pout on her face. "No tricks."

"First, I may have to leave for a little bit to…meet a friend. Don't be upset, ok?"

"Ok."

"The second is…" Jaune leaped off the bed and crouched, his fingers making little grabbers. "If you don't have fun, the tickle monster is gonna getcha!" Jaune stomped forwards at his sister and she ran straight downstairs in one continuous shriek of delight. He stopped at the door, letting the smile fade from his face before turning back to collect his Manual and get ready for the trip.

**An excellent choice. Plants and trees are always fun to talk to. **

"Yeah, I bet." Jaune shook his, still resolute to see this madness play out. "So. When can I start learning the Speech?"

**We can begin now. You should be able to practice what we learn today by the time we reach the park. Are you ready?**

"Sure. Chapter 1 right?"

The manual answered in the affirmative. Jaune opened the manual randomly, which turned out to be the correct page on the first try. _This wizardry stuff sure is handy._ He quickly read over the first page, which went over the proper greetings in the Speech. He repeated the pronunciation a few times in his head before speaking out loud to the room.

"_Dai'stiho._"

He was almost bowled over as a sudden rush of warmth enveloped him. He felt friendliness, love, and companionship in the surge, but it was all simple, almost one-dimensional.

**Your room enjoys you being its occupant. **

"My room? I just talked to my room?"

**You pretty much shouted it to anyone within hearing range. Before we begin further lessons, you will need to learn how to only speak to things you mean to. Otherwise your spells will not only be useless, but also malicious.**

Jaune cringed, imagining the destruction errant spells could cast. His Manual was right.

**Of course I'm right. I'm a Manual.**

Jaune just glared at the Manual. _Cheeky, very cheeky. _His Manual did its best impression of innocence and Jaune sighed, opening it once again. This time it opened to Speech exercises.

Time passed quickly as he moved through the exercises set forth. The first exercises dealt with defining a 'self', whose verbose definition was simplified by his Manual for his better understanding. It consisted of holding everything he thought of as himself in an imaginary infinitely thin permeable membrane called an Ontological Veil.

Once he had internalized the definition of his own Veil, he could project it onto the universe around him, cementing it in the definition of local spacetime itself. Of course, spacetime was a finite resource so you had to bully a few liters of atmosphere and a few moles of photons to stabilize your Veil. It wasn't pleasant, but it was the price you had to pay to disrupt the local entropy. Oh, and have some damned privacy.

Most of what was being explained went way over his head, metaphysics being what it is, but he eventually got his Veil to stabilize and anchored in local spacetime. Now all he had to do to speak to someone (_or something) _in the Speech was to reach out and create an interface between their Veil and his.

Jaune almost whooped in joy when he extended his Veil to connect with his blanket's and got a warm, fuzzy greeting from the warm, fuzzy cloth. He grinned and detached the connection, pulling the sun-warmed blanket around himself.

**Well done. Take note of the pressure you feel on your Veil. Anytime anyone is breaching your Veil, you will feel that pressure, but its strength will depend on the intruder, and each intruder has their own signature pattern. **

"What happens if someone breaches it? Do I die or something?"

**Potentially, nothing. Most wizards are friendly and will only brush against your Veil to communicate. A breach is an extremely intimate thing and is generally only initiated with consent. **

Jaune felt a blush creep up his face. "I'm guessing there are times when it's breached _without_ consent?"

**Yes. Once someone has broken into your Ontological Space they can use spells that attack your very definition. **

He gasped out loud at the implications. "They can change who I am! How do I fight back?"

**You will have to scrub your previous definition of self and define a new Ontology while under constant attack by the opponent, but we are getting ahead of ourselves. You need to learn the Speech but that will have to wait until you have breakfast. Pick up your scroll.**

Jaune blinked. "Sorry?"

**Do it, now. Pretend you've finished talking to a friend. **

Jaune put his scroll on the manual and waved goodbye at his reflection, feeling mighty foolish. "Alright, I'll see you around. Bye!"

**Good. We have a visitor. **

Jaune looked up to see his door slightly ajar and a single forest green eye looking at him through the crack. _Oh. I see. Thanks for the warning, Manual. _A ruffle of the pages was enough to understand the Manual's acceptance of his thanks.

Jaune smiled and patted his bed. Jaune's second youngest sister crept in silently and sat down next to him, frail as a newborn doe. Her eyes nervously alternated between him, his Manual, and his scroll, confirming his suspicions.

"What's up, Jade? Excited to head out today?" Jaune smiled kindly down at her, hoping to ease her nervousness. She was always skittish and being caught spying on him wouldn't help matters.

"A little." Her voice was quiet and small, complementing her stature well. Jaune suppressed a sigh and wrapped her into a hug. The direct approach would be best here.

"I'm not mad Jade. Everyone gets curious, especially those with brave heroic older brothers doing their secret Hunter business." Jaune cracked a half-smile as she giggled. "Just knock next time alright?"

Her giggles subsided and she nodded, yet her gaze remained fixed on the floor.

"Jade?"

She swung her legs but remained silent.

"What's wrong?"

She threw her arms around his waist and clung tight. Jaune tightened his grip, confused.

"I don't…" Her voice cracked. Jaune stroked her back, trying to comfort her. "I don't want you to die Jaune."

Jaune froze in horror. _How much had she heard? Manual?_

**Her approach was most silent. I did not notice her presence until she disturbed the door. **

Jaune unfroze and held his sister tight, rocking slightly. "Nothing's going to happen to me Jade. I'm surrounded by some of the best Huntsmen in the world. I'm as safe as safe can be." She didn't know about his…situation with Signal and she didn't need to, yet.

"I heard you talking to your friend about someone attacking you… I'm sorry this is silly." She started to pull away but Jaune held her tight.

"Hey, look at me. Look at me." Jaune waited until she turned his tear-streaked face up to him. His gut twisted. He hated causing his already emotionally-weak sister any pain and seeing her tears made him feel even worse. "Did I say it was silly? No, I didn't. Worrying about family is not silly but worrying yourself sick over something that's not real would probably count as silly in my head. As far as I know, you're the least silly girl I know. I mean, look at Rouge for example!"

A smile shone on her face and she wiped her face with a free hand. "That's true, I guess. It's…it's not like you're in the wilds." A sniff later and she was back to her normal self.

"Did you have breakfast yet? I was heading downstairs when I heard you speaking to," she gestured at his scroll. "that person."

"No, I was busy talking to, err…Manuel." Jaune waved at the scroll that lay on top of his Manual. He knew he had to lie, and this felt like the smallest form of lying to him.

"Who's he?"

"He's just a friend from school. We were just discussing a game we were playing at school." Jaune was not a good liar.

"What kind of game is it?"

"It's…well…" Jaune hesitated, his brain trying to come up with ideas. "It's this game we play where we pretend to be Hunters and one person has to come up with new monsters and such for us to fight. It's like a real-life video game in a way. Helps us develop strategy."

She frowned. "I don't get it."

Jaune laughed nervously. "Neither did I, but here I am, using children's books to come up with new ideas to get one by my friends. It's a lot more fun than it sounds, I swear!"

She smiled, most traces of worry gone from her eyes. Jaune grinned in relief.

"Now, let's get some of those pancakes, aye? Who's with me!" Jaune jumped to feet and stared pompously marching out the door.

Jade smiled wider and gave him a mock salute. "Aye aye captain. Lead the way!"

Jaune marched down the hall and down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Rouge was helping their dad finish off the latest batch of fresh pancakes. Their mother was in the middle of chiding her when she noticed their approach.

"…that syrup better not get on your clothes or I swear, good morning Jaune, Jade." She finished brightly, expertly flipping pancakes with one hand while pouring dollops of batter with the other. She was a veritable machine of efficiency, like most things she did.

"Hey Mom, Dad, Princess Syrup." He dodged out of the way of a syrup covered swat from Rouge. He and Jade sat down at the table, fresh pancakes landing in the center of their plates with almost inhuman precision.

"Perfect aim as usual honey." His father wiped his mouth a napkin and studied Jaune.

Jaune looked back, taking a cautious bite of pancake. "Whashup." He swallowed. "Sorry, what's up dad?"

His father paused for a second before speaking. "You seem…off. Everything alright with you?"

_No! I just lost our family's most prized heirloom and now I'm either a Wizard or Clinically Insane! _

"Everything's fine dad. Why?" Jaune lowered his face and took a huge bite of pancake. He knew his dad would probably figure something out if he looked up. It was just one of the superpowers parents have.

"How was the party? Did you have fun?" Aslan Arc was many things, but not imperceptive. He could tell when someone was trying to cover something up, but his own son? It was like reading an open book. He also knew that allowing Jaune to make his own mistakes would only foster independence in his son. It had worked for his older 4 daughters.

Jaune was thankful for the tactful change in subject. "Yeah, loved it! Music was great, had fun dancing, everyone was pretty happy to finally be seniors."

"Everyone?" His mom's tone was casual, but as usual she had cut straight to the point. Jaune saw his dad's bushy eyebrows knit together.

"Well, you know, I was happy for them yeah. They're where they belong." He speared another piece of pancake and slathered it in syrup.

"Jaune, you can't still believe you can't become a Hunter." His mom turned to face him, a hand on her hip in classic Stern Mom pose. "Just because you're not the best in combat class doesn't mean you're not an asset."

"I know, but it would be easier to apply my relevant skills to somewhere I won't be a liability. Maybe something like Border Security? I can plan pretty well, that's what my teachers say." Jaune waved his fork around casually. "The counselor says that with my 3 years at Signal I can get into most any college. I could drop out now and have a gap year and still not suffer."

"Seems like you've made up your mind. I'm not going to try and change your mind. Just don't take any rash decisions based on what others say. It's your life and the worst thing you can inflict on yourself is regret." With that he left the table and walked to the living room to switch on the television.

"Jaune, you're not going to be a Hunter?" Rouge and Jade were both staring at him. All 4 of Jaune's sisters were Huntresses and the pride of the family. Rouge's voice was surprised, but not judgmental.

"No, seems like I'm just not made for being a full-time Hunter. Can't have so many Arcs on the roster or people will get confused." He chuckled, mostly to himself. His sisters glanced at each other awkwardly.

"Jaune, we trust you. Just…don't hurt yourself, alright? It's your decision." His mother's voice was kindly, but slightly disappointed. He had already spoken to his parents about dropping out, but today was the first time he had shown confidence in his decision.

"You're still coming to the park with us, right?"

"Yes Rouge. A promise made is a promise kept. Call me when you guys are ready, I'll be in my room." Jaune walked back upstairs, his Manual clutched tightly in his hands.

Jade and Rouge finished their meal and left to wash up. Aslan picked up their dishes and headed to the sink where his wife stood nursing a cup of coffee.

"Thinking about Jaune?" He set the pan into a large pot full of water to soak.

"Of course." She took a deep sip, lost in thought. "Something happened last night, at the party."

"Maybe, maybe not." He started scrubbing the plates clean off the syrup. "Did you see the book he was carrying around?"

"_So You Want To Be A Huntsman. _I don't think he's touched it since he joined Signal."

"Do you think that book has something to do with his leaving Signal?"

"I don't know. But something happened at the party last night to make him take this decision. Remember how hesitant he was last time we spoke to him?"

"Yeah." He set the plate aside to dry and picked up the next. "I feel like we should give him some space, let him get his bearings. We can ask him about what happened after that."

"Sure. I can talk to his professors in the meantime." She gave him a kiss and left to corral Rouge into getting ready for the outing. Aslan smiled and continued scrubbing the plates.

His smile faded as his thoughts went back to the book Jaune was clutching to so dearly. He was no psychologist, but that book was one of the major reasons Jaune had looked up to Huntsmen. His sisters had helped him train and were role models, but the book had planted the ideological seeds in his head. For him to give it such love, especially after deciding to give the dream of becoming a Hunter?

Something was up, but Aslan Arc decided to give Jaune time to sort it by himself. He was a big kid but not an adult. He wouldn't be able to hurt himself with his mistakes at point.

Right? _Right?_

* * *

AN: Hopefully you guys liked the chapter! As usual, please do review, PM, follow, fav, praise, and criticize (constructively, of course). I hope you enjoyed the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Jaune's life is about to get a whole lot exciting from now on. With one year left to Beacon, who knows how he'll get the power he desperately wants?


	3. The First Day

The piercing rays of the sun were far from the biggest annoyance in the Arc family car as it made its way through the weekend traffic to the coast. The constant stop-and-go traffic especially was enough to drive anyone mad. Aslan almost had leapt out to confront a driver who had brake-checked him over the bridge into Northern Industrial.

Every lurch sent shivers down Jaune's spine and his head to a paper bag. The hot summer day did nothing to help his motion sickness, creating a veritable oven inside the car. The air conditioning only made matters worse since they had to close the outside vents to prevent the pollution from the Industrial District from getting in.

Rouge, as usual, was bouncing in the middle seat of their minivan and talking Jade's ears off, who was staring out the window and ignoring every single word. Jaune's mother, Jewel, was typing out an email on her phone and talking with Aslan. No one was paying attention to Jaune, creating the perfect situation to practice Wizardry in.

_Except I get the exquisite pleasure of being motion sick! Whoooooo._

Jaune glanced longingly at the unassuming book next to him, wondering if there was a cure for motion sickness in there.

_Hold up. Am I a Wizard or not?_ Jaune clamped his eyes shut to concentrate and reached out with his veil to his Manual and brushed against it cautiously.

_Manual?_

_Yes, Jaune?_

Relief flooded through Jaune. He managed to begin a smile before a jolt in the road sent his head back into the paper bag.

_If you like you can completely include me in your veil. I am your Manual after all. It will be easier to communicate that way. _

_Ok. There. _

_Oh dear. _The manual seemed to take a deep breath. _You really aren't feeling well, are you?_

_No, I just look like death because I enjoy the look. _Jaune would've rolled his eyes were they not shut tight.

_No need to get snappy, I'm trying to find a solution suitable for your skill level._

Jaune creaked one eye open at the statement. _How many solutions are there?_

_Just like the rest of wizardry, innumerable. However, just like the rest of Wizardry, they depend on your familiarity with the Speech and the energy available to you, amongst other variables._

Jaune wasn't in a mood to learn right now, which was understandable given the state of mutiny his guts were in. He simply grunted.

_There is also the fact that given your distressed mental state, any wizardry you cast would have the side effect of being tainted with residual wants. You would run the possibility of interfering with critical natural processes or drawing too much energy as you inadvertently try to solve every problem that goes through your mind. However, you do not have the familiarity with the Speech to even attempt a wizardry of that magnitude, so it would be an instinctive casting, in which case _who knows_ what might happen. In fact…_

"Oh, just shut up already." Jaune grit out. His eyes slammed open in shock. _That was out loud wasn't it. _

_Good luck Jaune. You'll need it. _

"What was that Jaune?" His mom turned around and glared at him. Jade was staring at him in shock.

_Oh boy that's not good. _Jaune licked his lips trying to think of an excuse. He definitely couldn't say he'd been talking to his easily distracted childhood book that doubled as his guide to Wizardry. He'd be in a psychiatrist's office faster than he could say 'Great Big Grimm Baddies.'

"Sorry, I didn't mean too…"

His mother interrupted him immediately. "Apologize to your sister Jaune."

"I wasn't talking…"

"_Jaune. Apologize. Now."_ If voices were weapons hers would be the Grimm Reaper's scythe. There was no arguing with her.

"I'm sorry Rouge. I didn't mean that." He said in a quiet voice.

"It's ok Jaune, I know you're not feeling good. I should be quiet."

Jaune's heart melted as he saw how she withdrew into herself. She'd been the one excited for this trip and it was his inability to separate thoughts from speech that was at fault. He glanced back at the death glare his mother was giving him and gave up trying to resolve the situation, preferring instead to go back to his regularly scheduled close encounters with vomit.

The rest of the trip was spent in silence, with the occasional quiet words exchanged between Jewel and Aslan. Both Rogue and Jade were staring at the city outside disinterestedly. Jaune was doing some breathing exercised the Manual had recommended soon after the incident. They worked well.

According to the Manual, they were exercises meant to help a Wizard focus during Wizardries that were attempted at high speeds, like repair of atmospheric currents. Jaune ignored most of the Manual's ramblings after that point, preferring to internalize the complex patterns to ease the infernal motion sickness. His fingers danced along points on his nose, neck, and chest while he breathed deeply and evenly.

Surprisingly (or rather not so surprisingly given that he had learned it mentally from a talking children's book), the technique worked. It worked astonishingly well. Jaune hadn't even noticed the ferry ride that took them across the bay to Patch.

His concentration finally broke when his father shook his shoulder. He jerked in surprise. His father's eyes flicked down to where Jaune's hand was resting on his Manual and a quick expression fluttered across his face before a teasing smile took over.

"Hey champ, we're here." His dad chuckled. "Bring the chairs."

Jaune took a few deep breaths to calm himself from the fright. He shoved his manual inside his hoodie and picked up the folding chairs as well as a spare blanket, just in case.

_Jaune…_

"Can we not talk right now?" Jaune muttered. "I'm kind of in the middle of a public area."

_You do realize I'm your Manual, right?_

"Yeah, I'm not stupid."

_A Wizard's Manual. _

"So?"

_Your manual. You're a Wizard. I'm your Manual. _

Jaune's mouth rounded into an O.

_You're an idiot, Jaune. _

_Cut it out, it's not even been a day. _Jaune mentally cringed at his stupidity. He had lapsed back to vocalizing his thoughts out loud rather than simply saying it in his head. It simply would not do. He'd already hurt his sister in the car ride. What if he accidentally cast a Wizardry out loud without focusing?

_And yet… _His manual sighed. _Jaune, there are some things about you we need to talk about. In depth. How soon can you find a secluded area?_

_I don't like the sound of that. Good news or bad news?_

_Both. Neither. I don't know!_

Jaune could hear the frustration in its thoughts flowing through their mental connection. Well, feel, rather. It was complicated. Their mental connection had been deepening ever since he had intersected his Veil with the Manual's, evolving from simply a communication link to something deeper.

Jaune on one hand felt that it was unnatural to be able to share his feelings and thoughts with another seemingly sentient being this easily. On the other hand, it was _his_ Manual. Manuals were as much a Wizard's guide as they were a companion, someone to trust when all else fails.

_Alright, we'll set up the picnic spot and then I'll sneak off. There's this clearing I know nearby. _Jaune decided to try something. He imagined the clearing as best as he could and sent the mental picture through the link.

_That seems private enough. Let's go. _

* * *

Jewel watched Jaune stalk off quietly from beneath her sunglasses with a small smile. The kid was never any good at sneaking anywhere. She turned to Aslan who was also watching him, albeit with a frown.

"He still has his book with him." Aslan mumbled, half to himself.

Jewel looked back at Jaune who glanced around then slipped into a thicket and disappeared from their sight.

"Have you talked to Lan yet? How's little Jazzie doing?"

"Heartbroken, as expected. She wanted to stay with her friends, but she barely missed the Senior cut-off." Aslan leaned back into his chair and went back to staring at the sky. "Why have there been so many cut this year? They didn't fail these many kids back in our day."

"Yeah, well they needed as many of us back then. Remember back when we were kids? Huntsmen seemed a dime a dozen."

"Died at the same rate too." Aslan's voice was slightly rough.

Jewel set her mouth. Aslan was thinking about his parents' deaths again. "Hey."

"I'm fine."

"I know you are, but we're getting off topic."

"Yeah." He paused for a moment. "When's your meeting with the Dean?"

"Friday evening, 6 PM. Said we had to be quick, there are about 4 other families asking for meetings as well."

"Hmm."

They sat in the warm sunlight, a comfortable silence between them. They both knew what the other was thinking at that moment but was finding it hard to put it into words.

"Where did we go wrong with Jaune?"

Aslan turned his head to look her in the eyes. "What do you mean?

"It's just…" Jewel shrugged. "He's got natural talent, we've all seen that. He's always been able to think on his feet, come up with new ways to make our lives hell. Remember his thirteenth birthday?"

Aslan grinned at the fond memory. There had been a lot of clean-up, apologizing, and all-around yelling after Jaune and a couple of his friends had taken the family car for a spin. Their plan had almost worked, but Jaune hadn't known about the garage sensor Aslan had put in a week earlier. They met a sleep-deprived Aslan at 3 in the morning in front of the garage and had collectively we themselves, almost not metaphorically. Jaune had been on extra chores for about a year after that. His friends hadn't gotten off lightly either.

"He's always been good at theory. It's just his combat…" Jewel trailed off.

"We both tried our best with him. The older 4 never had this much trouble but Jaune is a different soul."

"He seemed so determined to be a Huntsman. Stayed up all night during his exams."

"I remember you had to resort to emotional blackmail to get him to sleep."

A smile crept onto her face at the memory but dropped quickly. "He gave up almost overnight. Ever since that party…" She sat up slightly. "Do you think someone said something to him there?"

"You mean bullying?" He frowned.

"No, well, maybe. It never seemed like he was being bullied, just…I don't know. Maybe someone said something about his grades."

"That doesn't seem like it would affect him that much though. He's a strong boy."

She paused for a moment, deciding how she was going to phrase her thoughts. "I agree he's strong, but do you think he's been forthcoming with details of his social life? I mean, we basically have to interrogate him about school nowadays and he never tells us what he does or where he hangs out with his friends."

"Mixing with the wrong crowd?" Aslan raised an eyebrow.

"No, nothing of the sort. I'm just confused. His behavior today has been extremely out of character. It's something to do with that book. I'm sure of it."

"That seems logical, but why would he cling to that book while giving up on being a Huntsman?"

"Do you think we should talk to the psychologist?"

Aslan guffawed. "That quack? Never."

"He's not a quack." Jewel insisted. "He helped with Celeste and her…difficulties."

Aslan's scowl returned. "That was mostly us."

She just stared at him pointedly. He stared back for a while then blinked.

"Fine, ok, he helped. Do you want to make an appointment?"

"Let's see more. Maybe it's just a temporary thing. Jaune's always been sensitive and he still has time before the registration deadline. He can change his mind anytime."

"Fair enough."

The two nodded, silent once more as they sunk into their thoughts. Far away, wide forest green eyes stared at them, before she was distracted by the shouts of her younger sister and returned to play.

* * *

Jaune pushed his way through the thick trees of the forest ignoring his jacket snagging on every branch. His attention was entirely devoted to the text on his page and his eyes moved rapidly across the archaic symbols.

_If I'm understanding this right, simply trying to read the symbols of the Speech allow me to learn it faster?_

_Correct. It is part of the workings of the Speech. It creates a positive feedback look, where the mere attempt at understanding the language of the universe gives you a greater affinity to it. Of course, there's a drawback to this approach. The more familiar you are with the language, the harder it is to progress your knowledge. _

_Isn't that the case with all languages?_

_I'm not talking about the diminishing returns of fluency, Jaune. I'm talking about a deeper understanding. Normal language resides within your mind, fluency brings it to your subconsciousness. The concept of a 'mother tongue' approaches this; a language you have internalized to an extent you dream in it. The Speech on the other hand, resides not only in your mind and subconscious, but within your Soul. _

_My Soul?_ Something clicked in his head. _Does the Speech have something to do with Aura?_

The manual blinked mentally. _I…I do not know. That is an interesting question. Give me time to research. Anyways, the Speech resonates with your very soul. Just like your mind and body are your connections to the physical world, your Soul is your connection to the energies of the universe. _

_Right, but how does that make it harder to learn the Speech?_

_It's a matter of saturation. As you immerse yourself in the Speech, it is easier to internalize the Speech but harder to make it resonate with your Soul. You can understand the Speech with increasing ease as you expose yourself to it, but eventually your ability to use it will start to taper off. _

Jaune chewed his lip. _So that means I effectively have a limit to the scope of my Wizardries? _

_In a way. It simply limits how much you can do by yourself. Larger Wizardries require more participants or catalysts to execute some of the Speech. Furthermore, catalysts and pre-compiled modular segments of your Wizardries are both good Wizarding practices. Catalysts reduce the risk of you overextending yourself, and having modular code will help in formulation, casting, and optimization. _

Jaune's head was starting to spin at the sheer amount of information pouring into his head from both the Manual's text and voice, but he persevered. _That makes sense. So the Speech is like the programming language of the Universe. _

_Yes._

_Objects in the Universe are, well, objects. They're well defined and have their own properties that set them apart from others of the same Class. _

_Indeed. _

Jaune was starting to get more confident. Programming was one area he used to be good at before he had transferred to Signal, after which he never had the time to really pursue it. There was no room for computer science when you're breathing down the mouth of an Ultra Leviathan. Who knew?

_Alright, so to cast Wizardries I write my own code, in the Speech, compile, and execute it? Which makes pre-compiled strings easier and more efficient to use. There are analogues of libraries in Wizardry, I'm guessing?_

_Libraries?_

_A collection of pre-written code, subroutines, templates, methods, functions, etc._

_Ah yes, many such Spellbooks are in my records. It pleases me that you are familiar with the basic structure of Wizardry!_

Jaune grinned. In all this metaphysical madness of Wizardry (half of which was going over his head), there was at least something that he could do off the bat. Plus, apparently having good practices made you a better Wizard! Take _that_ Mr. Xiao-Long! Programming _wasn't _useless for a potential Huntsman after all.

_Are you done with the first section of the lesson Jaune? _

The Manual's voice snapped him back to reality. _Yeah, yeah just finishing the last row of symbols. I'm starting to see what you meant by the positive feedback loop, the row before this took half the time of the first! And look, we're at the clearing, just in time. _

He pushed through the last bit of bush and into a large open space surrounded by large deciduous trees, all bearing large green leaves. A hole in the canopy let sunlight into the middle of the circular clearing and set the whole place ablaze with a golden glow.

Jaune unconsciously relaxed with every step into the clearing. It was his favorite location to be in in the park and as far as he knew no one knew about it. He dropped onto the patch of sunlight, eyes closed as he sat. The warmth of the light worked wonders on the tension in his back and he sighed in contentment, feeling all the built-up tension leave him.

_Jaune, since you are done with familiarizing yourself with the basics of the Speech, I believe we can begin constructing a very basic Wizardry. _

_Already? I thought you said I'd have to learn for a few days before attempting one. It's only been what, 6 hours since we started!_

_This was part of what I wished to discuss with you. You have shown remarkable progress in the Speech, more than I had been led to ex…I mean expecting. _

_Er, thanks? _

_Part of that may be due to your skill in programming, but I am not sure. I was hoping there was some information you could shed on it. _

_I mean, other than being a complete failure at fighting, I'm pretty good at thinking things out. I can make friends pretty easily, though I doubt that has anything to do with Wizardry. _

_Hmm. A topic for another time then. First, let us begin building your first Wizardry, and if it is completely correct, we shall attempt it. _

_Agreed. Absolutely agreed! Let's get this started. _

The manual grinned. _Do you even know what Wizardry we're going to cast?_

_Nope!_ Came his enthusiastic reply.

The manual laughed at that. _Alright, here is a spell rated as among the easiest to cast. To begin…_

As the Manual began to describe the Wizardry, Jaune opened his eyes and refocused on the Manual in front of him. His Wizarding Manual. He was a Wizard. He was going to cast his first Wizardry today! He grinned in anticipation. Then winced in pain as his Manual mentally slapped him.

"Ow! Yes, I'm paying attention."

…

"Repeat that please."

* * *

Saphie was not in a good mood.

Not that it was a rare occasion. What was rare was that she had the free time to work off the aggression, which caused her no end of satisfaction. And she knew the perfect place to do so.

She had just been yelled at by three customers in a row for mixing up orders. Never mind she had been distracted by her boss yelling at her to serve orders, despite only being paid to be a cashier and not a _Dust-damned waitress_! That outburst had earned an official warning from the manager, her second. The next one was going to get her fired.

She changed out of the uniform as quickly as she could and exited the restaurant from the rear entrance. The smell of a miscellany of spices clung to her skin as she hurried to the waterfront. She had been dismissed early from her shift to 'go cool off' and she wasn't going to waste the few precious free hours she had gotten before she needed to go pick her younger brother up from school.

She made her way through the crowd of tourists come to see Vale's famous waterfront, cursing them thoroughly. The slack-jawed, glassy-eyed, camera-wearing, entitled rich prats were her biggest menace and she genuinely loathed them. They came through, acted like they deserved being waited on hand and foot because they were _tourists, _got mad over the smallest mistakes, and left next to no tips.

She growled as she shouldered past the bulk of two _quite_ overweight couples, even their size managing to annoy her. She ignored their offended looks and continued to the ferry port.

She practically abused the ticket machine in her rush to board the leaving ferry and leapt over the closing gate to get on. She didn't want to waste a single minute of her two hours. The simple matter of a safety hazard didn't scare her.

She spent he rest of the voyage clinging to her book bag, casting suspicious looks at the handful of pickpockets that haunted the ferry. She'd fallen victim to their schemes twice before, and she had no intention to be parted with her money (or more precious belongings).

Most people avoided the 16-year-old girl with the fearsome scowl and glare that promised pain. All, except one middle-aged man who kept stealing glances at her and frowning, looking back and forth between her and a small pocketbook he held in his hand. He was subtle enough for most people to not notice, but she wasn't most people. Half her life had been spent reading people.

Her scowl deepened when he nodded once and stopped looking in her direction. That was generally when the perpetrator had made up their mind one way or the other. He hid his body language, but there was an air of professional confidence to it that just screamed of malicious intent. He was going to try something for sure. She wasn't going to stick around to see what he wanted. The next time his brown eyes looked at her over his small mirror glasses, she would bolt, blend into the crowd.

Her paranoia kept her on edge the entire way to her destination where she practically flew into the anonymity of the crowd and away from the piercing gaze of the man. All she could see were his eyes peering into hers, tearing her apart and seeing exactly what she was made of.

_HE KNOWS_

The phrase pounded in her head as she ran down the gangplank and to the bus stop. It shoved every other thought out of her mind as the bus left the station. It took every breathing exercise she knew to get her mind back in control. This wouldn't do. She couldn't break down like this anyone looked at her funny. Her fists clenched, unclenched. Her breathing slowed. Her back straightened. The bus reached its stop and she hopped off, almost sprinting through the gate and to the tree line where her haven lay. She would be safe there. No one about it, as far as she knew.

* * *

"Alright, so I'm done with the name string. Where do I put it?"

Jaune clutched a light, almost silky, ethereal chain between his hands. In it was a short phrase in the Speech describing him to all entities relevant to the Wizardry. Currently, it was short and uncomplex, unsurprising given how basic his Wizardry was.

_Good, you didn't add any frivolous terms to it._

"Yeah, I'm not going to doubt the instructions of the almighty Manual now am I?" Jaune grinned and set his name down onto the grass, careful not to break it apart. The chain was basically that; Speech in written form. The only difference was that it was written out onto the universe itself, requiring no medium to carry it.

Jaune had used a branch from a nearby tree to carve the symbols into the ground. It was a simple matter of pushing intent into the crude scratchings to make them something important, something worth the universe's attention.

He took one end and connected it to another arc of Speech that his manual had dictated to him. It was a template, designed to help new Wizards avoid the headaches that came with Spell design and structuring. Most of it was gibberish to Jaune, but from what he could decipher it dealt with the collection, storage, and subsequent distribution of energy from the surrounding universe. His Manual summarized it as a humble request of his local bulk to donate some energy to assist a Wizard. Most life was delighted to participate, and their contributions would be more than enough to power the Wizardry.

_Of course, _his Manual had said. _Larger Wizardries will require you to engage in the process yourself. You might have to persuade even the Powers That Be themselves to assist you, but, as usual…_

"That is far beyond my current capabilities. Yes I know, you've said it enough times already."

_Hmph. _

Jaune smiled at that and had continued writing his name, checking and double checking every letter and word. It was painstaking, but it was important to get in the habit of being sure about who you're describing in the Wizardry. Who knows how an inaccurate description could read to a plant or a solar flare? A small change in your height could lead to the air trying to press you down into that size for all you knew.

He finished 'sewing' one end of his name into the template's name section and began on the next. He brought the two disjoint pieces together and lay them onto the dirt a few inches apart. Using his branch, he drew the symbol for joining between them that looped through both the pieces and met itself at a point.

Once he was finished with the name, the intent came next. His intent was basic, clear, and he had written it out before he had even begun his name.

It was a plea to his star's photons to perhaps reconsider their dedication to travel the shortest distance and instead traverse the slightly longer path that curved around his person. They could rejoin their path once they were clear of

"I shall recompense you for the change in your energy and I wish you a happy journey." Jaune read the final portion of his plea out loud. Satisfied, he stood up. "Everything checks out."

_You checked all the connections? _

"Every single one is great."

_Syntax is good?_

"I don't know, you tell me. You wrote it."

_Alright, great. Now, first you…Wait._

"What is it this ti…Oh."

Staring at him from the entrance to _his _private clearing, staring at _his _Wizardry was a girl, looking as surprised as he was at finding her there.

"What are _you_ doing here?!" They both shouted incredulously. Jaune's eyes narrowed at that. He tried to think of something to say, something appropriate to the equivalent to someone opening the bathroom door when you're still conducting your business.

"Are you a Wizard too?" Her brown eyes, previously narrowed in suspicion, now widened in recognition.

Jaune gaped, speechless. He was _not_ prepared for this.

* * *

**AN: **Hey guys, hope you liked the chapter! Sorry, this chapter took a bit longer than I anticipated, surprise classes are a pain to plan around. Anyways, please let me know how you felt about this chapter! Reviews, PMs, favorites, follows, any and all are appreciated. Interacting with readers is a huge part of writing!


	4. Surprise Encounters of the Third Kind

Jaune knew he had been staring at the girl too long, but he couldn't help himself. What were the chances of another Wizard stumbling into him, in the middle of his first Wizardry, right before he activated it, and that too in _his _secret clearing?

_Hey lover boy, this ain't a romantic movie. Staring will get your nothing but a black eye, especially from someone like her._

Jaune shook himself out of his stupor and went into his default 'meeting-new-person-mode'.

"Hey there, pleased to meet ya." He flashed his brightest grin. "Name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it."

If there is a psychic equivalent to a spit-take, his Manual gave the perfect example of it.

"Excuse me?" The girl's expression, which previously mirrored Jaune's surprise, now scrunched into a curious mixture of shock and disgust.

"Er…sorry!" Jaune had no idea what he was apologizing for or why the girl was so offended by the greeting. Most people just laughed it off and at this point Jaune was working too much in autopilot to even analyze it. "Just introducing myself as Jaune Arc. That's my name. Yeah. Sorry again for that. Uh, what's yours?"

His manual's boisterous laughter did _not_ help.

The girl continued to stare at him askance, as if he was from a different species altogether. Jaune just wished she stopped looking at him like that.

"Shut up, just shut up." Jaune obeyed her order. "Answer my question first. Are you a Wizard or not?"

Jaune swallowed hard and nodded, mouth clamped shut.

"You said your name is Jaune Arc? Spelled J-A-U-N-E A-R-C?" She was flipping through the pages of a small red pocketbook like she was a detective verifying facts on a case.

Jaune hummed in agreement, not daring to open his mouth. The girl had a fearsome scowl and looked more dangerous than many of his ex-classmates did in the middle of combat. If she knew what a Wizardry was on sight alone, she was probably more skilled than he was. He did _not _want to risk turning into a toad.

_Wow Jaune, didn't know you believed sexist stereotypes. Just because she's a female magic user who's mad at you, you think she's going to turn you into a toad. That's an offensive stereotype and I'm hurt you would ever think that way._

_What? No! I don't, I didn't, _Jaune floundered for words, completely out of his depth. "I didn't mean to call anyone a witch!"

_And that was out loud. This entertainment almost makes up for your terrible attitude in my class Jaune. _

"Did you just call me a witch?" Her voice was ice-cold.

"No, well, yes, but no, I wasn't calling you a witch, I just didn't want you to turn me into a toad you see." The words tumbled out of his mouth like whitewater. "You being a powerful Wizard and all."

Her dark brown eyes betrayed no emotion and were almost unnervingly unreadable. He wondered if she practiced that in the mirror. She stared at him for a few seconds before breaking the silence by clapping her pocketbook shut.

"What the hell are you talking about? Toads? Witches? Powerful Wizard?" She started laughing out loud, startling Jaune. "This is the funniest thing, holy crap!"

She was bent over with her hands on her knees and busting a gut. Jaune's fear turned into indignation. "Hey, what's going on?"

"I think you're the lowest experience Wizard I've seen on here. I thought they didn't list Wizards at all at that level." She straightened up and wiped a tear out of her eye. "Me, turning people into frogs willy-nilly. I wish. How long have you been a Wizard?"

"Er…since this morning?"

That took her by surprise. "Since _this_ morning?"

"Yeah, why? Are you going to start laughing again?" Jaune crossed his arms indignantly.

"No, no, this is a different matter altogether." She took a few steps toward his Wizardry before pausing, grimacing at her pocketbook, and stopping. "May I approach your Wizardry, Jaune?"

"Um, yeah, sure." Jaune pointed at the pocketbook. "Is that your Manual?"

"Yeah. My _mentor and guide through the wonderous and unlimited potential of Wizardry_." She said in a mocking voice. "A right pain sometimes, let me tell you. Has to do everything by the book."

Jaune glanced at his Manual. "Does each Manual have its own personality?"

She shrugged, walking around his Wizardry circle and checking it against something in her Manual. "Don't know any other Wizards."

"Did you look me up in your Manual?"

"Yeah."

_Why didn't you tell me you could find other Wizards?_

_You never asked._

Jaune sighed and moved on. "So, you know my name. It's only fair for me to know yours as well."

"Saphie." She said without pausing in her analysis of his Wizardry.

He watched her closely as she looked at some term, at her Manual, back to the Wizardry, and then continued on. Jaune licked his lips, almost nervous of whatever judgement she would pass on it before pausing. Why did he suddenly care so much about what she thought of his wizardry? He barely knew her!

_It's that self-confidence of hers. _His manual's voice was serious. _It's one of the most important qualities in a Wizard. How can you hope to convince the Universe to bend to your will without believing what you are doing is right?_

Jaune observed her with this newfound insight. He had to agree with his manual there; she looked as if she was a professor grading his work and Jaune had slipped into the student role as a result.

_She has an exceptionally strong conviction and a stronger will. I'd stay on her good side. _

Jaune sat down and waited as she finished her circle, practicing the Speech. It was a few minutes before her voice broke his concentration.

"Was this Wizardry your idea or did the Manual suggest it to you?"

Jaune decided to fully slip into the role of the student. "My manual suggested it, saying it was the best fit for my skills."

"How much of this was template?"

"Pretty much everything but the request and my name were copied. The formatting was all me, however."

"And you said you became a Wizard this morning?" Disbelief was woven into her words.

"Yeah."

"Are you confident in this Wizardry?"

Jaune took a breath and reviewed his work, as he had already done twice before and after writing it. _Self confidence is important. _"Yes."

"Go ahead and cast it then." She stepped away from the Wizardry.

_Manual?_

_Yes Jaune?_

_How do I cast it?_

_I was going to save the actual casting until we covered the theory of casting and how to debug the Wizardry before execution._

_I'm sensing a but coming up._

_Honestly, she's right. Even I'm a bit surprised at how well you've managed to pick up and use the Speech. If you think you are ready to skip straight to casting, I won't stop you. Casting is simple. Visualize the changed universe in your mind and read aloud the Wizardry. Maintain your will throughout to ensure a successful casting. _

Jaune rolled his shoulders and stretched before opening his Manual to where the Wizardry's exact description lay. He read through once more and focused his mind on his self-image. The Wizardry began by describing all entities involved and the very first was himself.

The moment he started speaking, he became rooted and unable to move. He ignored the effect and kept reading, focused on the Speech and his will. He felt the Universe bend inwards as if he were its center. He could acutely feel every photon in his immediate area and their paths. Energy flowed through him and into the air surrounding him, shaping its properties according to his will. The difference between what was asked for and what was real diminished until the two concepts coincided as he finished the Wizardry. The Universe went back to normal and Jaune fell to his knees panting. It was utterly exhausting.

"Holy shit it actually worked." Saphie's voice was full of surprise and wonder. Without the hard edge to it, it almost sounded like it was someone else's.

Jaune stared down at himself. Or rather, at where he would have been. The only thing remaining in the space that his body appeared in was a slight shimmer, like a localized mirage.

It was _very_ disorienting. His manual was floating in midair and was his only idea of the location of his hands in space. He took a step backwards only to fall flat on his rear as he misjudged his feet placement. He tried to get up twice and failed miserably both times, landing in a tangle of invisible limbs.

He sat down and waited for the rest of the minute-long spell to run its course. He wasn't enjoying losing all sense of physical context and he _definitely _wasn't enjoying Saphie giggling at his semi-transparent body flailing on the floor.

As the spell came to an end, he faded back into merciful opacity.

"So?" he cocked his head at Saphie. "Am I still the weakest Wizard you've ever looked up?"

She shook her head and guffawed. "Yeah. But." She toed his fading Wizardry on the ground. "You're not completely useless."

Jaune gathered his knees to his chest and rested his chin on them. "Thanks?"

She stared at his melancholy expression for a moment before walking over with a sigh and offering him a hand. He looked at the extended hand in confusion before grasping it and allowing himself to be pulled up.

"Listen. I'm going to be real with you here." She crossed her arms and stared into the trees. "I wasn't lying when I said you were the only Wizard I've encountered so far. My Manual told me to find the Area Wizard for advice after casting my first Wizardry, but I never really got around to it."

_Protocol checks out. I was going to tell you the same thing, but honestly, I was thinking I shouldn't. You'd just embarrass yourself in front of them. _

_Yeah, yeah, haha laugh it up. Either be useful and search for this 'Area Wizard' or shut up. _

He turned his attention back to Saphie, the conversation with his Manual taking only a couple of seconds through the mental link. "So, uh, Saphie. How long have you been a Wizard?"

"A couple months now."

Jaune blinked. "How did you manage to be able to read my Wizardry in that amount of time? The explanation for half those terms were locked behind dozens of prerequisites! And a half dozen warnings about customizing them!"

"Oh that? Ha. I was only looking up what you wrote in the manual, same as you did. I can barely piece together a translocation Wizardry half the time." Her tone was off handed but there was a bitter undercurrent to the words.

The Academy may not have made him Beacon-ready, but it had given him more than enough experience to read self-doubt and the various ways people tried to cover it up. He'd employed half of them himself from time to time. And right now, all that experience was giving him a pretty clear reading. He would have to be tactful.

"Is that why you never went to the Area Wizard?"

_Never mind. Foot, meet mouth. _

Saphie stiffened. It was a tense moment before she finally spoke. "No. Well, yes, but it wasn't the entire reason." She turned away from the forest and looked at him. "Don't ask me that again."

Jaune put his hands up to placate her. "Sorry, didn't mean to pry." He wasn't sure why she got so defensive about it but he could let it slide. He moved on. "By the way, what were you doing here?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, how did you come across my clearing?"

"_Your_ clearing?" she guffawed. "I've been coming here for the past 3 years. If anything, it's my clearing."

"Try 6 years. Found this clearing before I even got into Signal."

"You're a Hunter? No offense," she said, indicating she was going to be offensive. "but you don't exactly look the part."

"Not a Hunter, not yet. Was supposed to graduate this year but things didn't, uh, work out." Jaune nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"Now ain't that relatable." Saphie looked up at the sky.

"You went to Signal too?" Jaune perked up.

"No, never got the chance to. Always wanted to though."

"Huh." It felt good to have something else in common with the first and only Wizard he had met so far.

They sat in silence for a while, just absorbing the events of the past half hour.

"Did you flunk out?" Her voice was curious and free of judgement.

"Not exactly. I didn't meet the combat requirements for graduation." Jaune put his hands behind his head and lay down on the sun-warmed grass. "Four years down the drain."

She arched an eyebrow. "How did you manage to pass in everything but combat? Isn't that the entire point of going there?"

"Hey! It's not like I can't fight! I even have my own…" Jaune sat up suddenly, causing Saphie to flinch. "CROCEA MORS! How could I forget?!"

"Woah, Jaune, what happened?"

Jaune stood up, full of sudden energy. "Crocea Mors, it's my sword. Well, my dad's but he gave it to me for my final year. I, er, I got mugged yesterday. It got stolen then."

"You, a final year Signal student, got mugged?" Saphie asked sardonically.

"I failed the combat certification by a good margin, ok?" he defended.

"Maybe your power rating in the Manual isn't a mistake after all…"

_Wow, she doesn't give a flying fish. Imagine if she knew the truth, Jaune. I don't think she'd leave you alive._

_How the hell do you know what happened last night?_

_We're sharing our thoughts moron._

"I take offense to that." he said out loud to her.

"I don't care."

"That's rude."

"I don't care."

"Fair enough." Jaune gave up on that topic. "I need to get it back as soon as possible or my dad is going to suspect something is wrong."

"From the guys who mugged you? Alone?"

"I was thinking of asking a friend from Signal…" Jaune said, convincing neither of them.

Saphie ran a hand over her face. "Ok listen, this is against my better judgement, but my Manual is pretty much forcing me to do this. Since you're the only Wizard I know, I'm willing to help out."

Jaune perked up. "Thank you so much! Maybe you can teach me a few things too!"

"Calm down, let's take this one step a time. I can call in sick tomorrow and we can go get your…"

"Sword."

"Your sword then. Find out where those punks hide out and everything will be much easier."

"Sounds like a plan!" Jaune was buzzing with excitement. "Alright let's meet up near…hey where are you going?!"

Saphie was already at the edge of the clearing. "I took too much time here. I'll get fired!" she yelled back as she disappeared into the trees.

"No, wait, stop! How am I going to contact you? Dust damn it!" Jaune kicked the ground.

_Jaune. _

_What?_

_I literally have the details of every Wizard nearby, remember? That comes with contact details as well. _

Jaune rubbed his eyes. _Right. Of course. So I just call her up?_

_The Wizardry Manual also contains transcommunication features, including, but not limited to text, 2D and 3D images and video, and even smell. Try them out today!_

_You're a real sarcastic jerk aren't you? I bet her Manual is much nicer than you are. _

_Aww, love you too. _

Jaune shook his head, communicating good-natured irritation, and hurried back to his waiting family, his mind filled with wonder at finding a fellow Wizard and the plan they'd made to get Crocea Mors back. He could feel tomorrow would be an important day.

* * *

**AN: **I'm still alive! Yay!

A few clarifications about Jaune failing graduation. Jaune wasn't the only one to not graduate. As his parents stated last chapter, Signal has been tightening its standards to put out lower quantity, higher quality batches of graduates. As a result many students have been failing in each year, Jaune being one of them. If you have any more doubts or questions, please don't hesitate to PM me and we can have a chat!

As usual, do review and PM, I love hearing from you guys!


	5. Translocation Queries

A/N: What 6 month gap? I don't know what you're talking about.

Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Jaune's return to the family's picnic was uneventful. His parents sat in the picnic chairs, dozing in the warm sunlight while Jade and Rouge played with some other kids further away. Or more accurately, Rouge was playing while Jade sat a bit further away and watched.

Jaune could feel his parents' eyes on him as he walked back, his mother's concerned gaze subtle behind her sunglasses while his dad pretended to sleep but watched him behind almost-closed lids.

He felt a flush of nostalgia as he remembered the times that trick had fooled him as a child. His dad would always pull it at the end of study sessions, only to capture him in a bear hug while he was on the counter reaching for the forbidden cookies.

He smiled and waved at his parents before nodding in Rouge and Jade's direction. His mother gave him a nod before raising her hand. _5 minutes. _Jaune's face morphed into faux horror which put a smile on his mother's face. They both knew it was impossible to get Rouge to stop playing in 5 minutes, but Jaune held the record in the house.

It wasn't difficult to catch Jade's eye given she had been watching him approach from the tree line itself. He grinned deviously and nudged his head in Rouge's direction. She looked at her younger sister, considering for a second before signing the number 2 and then the number 4 at him.

Jaune gave her two thumbs up and she mirrored his smile. This was one of the many systems of communication they had come up with to avoid detection by the bundle of chaos that was Rouge. Ever since she could walk, Rouge had been a constant headache to keep in one place, especially for the then 12 and 8-year-old siblings. Their parents were busy with the day-to-day activities of their own jobs, the schooling of the older Arc sisters, and all of this with only one parent in the house at a time. They had decided early on to never go on mission at the same time and had stuck to it, despite the headache it caused the Hunter Board. It had been worth it. The family was tightly knit, with each sibling having taken care of those younger.

Jaune watched Jade approach Rouge casually, with no air of an ulterior motive. A 12-year-old had no business being so good at acting but Jade wasn't typical. Rouge gasped in delight and pulled Jade into the sandpit, where she would play for 5 more minutes before being distracted and running off somewhere else. Jade subtly pulled Rouge's attention away from Jaune's location and distracted her with building a small but intricate sand castle. She looked over her younger sister's head and nodded at Jaune. Her part in the plan was over; it was up to him to secure the asset.

He crept up to the sandpit in a cartoonish impression of a cat burglar. Jade did everything in her power to hold back a giggle as she watched him out of the corner of her eye. Somehow, Rouge still hadn't noticed. Jade's distraction was too good. He scanned the grass and found a small pile of dead leaves a few feet behind the sandpit.

_Perfect._

He crept forward and _accidentally_ stepped in the patch of dead leaves, alerting Rouge to his presence. She whirled around and opened her mouth to crow her victory, but her victory grin faded when she saw the triumphant grin on Jaune's face. Her eyes widened in terror before the true attack was launched by Jade. And what an attack it was. 10 fingers, adept at finding anyone's ticklish spots, blurred through the air and struck with absolute precision.

"No fair!" Rouge struggled to yell between giggling fits. "Stooooooooop"

Rouge rolled away from Jade, twisting and flopping like only a child could. She broke free from one hand and used her advantage to launch herself away from Jade like a human missile.

Jaune was ready to intercept and snatched her out of the air, bundling her into a tight embrace. She smacked her tiny fists against his back, but there was no real energy behind the attack. Her defeat was clear and she wasn't a poor sport. She continued giggling as Jaune carried her back to the picnic blanket. He surreptitiously held a closed fist behind him which Jade quickly bumped.

His dad pretended to wake up as they reached the blanket, putting on a show of rubbing his eyes and yawning. His mother rolled her eyes and smiled, holding her hands out for Rouge. Jade was already unpacking the picnic basket and handing plates to their dad.

He smiled through lunch, laughing at Rouge's antics and his dad's terrible jokes while enjoying sandwiches and chips. In another time, this would have been a perfect afternoon but for the pit of dread he carried in his stomach, right next to the Manual he had stashed inside his hoodie.

_I need to get Crocea Mors back. From armored thugs in their own hideout. With a stranger he had only known for half an hour. _

He just hoped his unease in his laughter went unnoticed.

…

"Did you notice how uneasy Jaune looked at lunch?"

Jaune's parents sat in the living room, the quiet din of the TV present only to mask their conversation. In a household with half a dozen kids, their privacy was a resource they had to fight hand over foot for. It was easier now that only 3 kids remained in the house, but their guard hadn't lowered.

"He came back without that book too." Aslan ran a finger along the rim of his glass, the drink within momentarily forgotten in his concern. "You think he threw it away?"

"Maybe." Jewel sighed and leaned her head on Aslan's shoulder. "If he's truly thinking of dropping out instead of trying for Signal Senior certification again…"

"You're not still thinking he's being bullied?" Aslan's thumb moved in comforting circles on her arm. "Not with his friend circle. I doubt any of them would stand for that sort of thing."

"It definitely happened at the dance though and I doubt it was a teacher who shot his dreams down."

"Well, if it's not bullying and not a teacher, then why did he suddenly…" Aslan stiffened. "Maybe it wasn't purely related to graduation."

She glanced quizzically at him for a second before realization dawned. "Rejection of the romantic kind? Really?"

Aslan hummed noncommittally. "I've seen it happen before. Aura can prevent stabbings but not a broken heart. The most committed of Hunters have faded away due to this."

"Jaune is 16 Aslan. I doubt he knows what love of that kind even is."

"Well, not all 16-year-olds are ignorant to that…" He pinched her and she giggled, cuddling in closer.

Jaune stepped off the staircase silently, having heard enough. He knew where this was going and had no intention of staying around for that. The door to his room closed with nary a squeak and he slid to a sitting position with his back to it.

A thousand thoughts ran through his head, but he ignored all of them in favor of watching the fading white glow coming from under his rug. The remnants of his second ever Wizardry disappeared to nothing, leaving him in the dark with a jumble of thoughts and damp eyes.

…

"I'm going to be heading out today." Jaune spoke up during breakfast.

"Going out with friends?" His dad slid a rasher of bacon onto his plate and he nodded in thanks.

Jaune started assembling his breakfast sandwich. "Something like that."

"Friends from Signal?"

His dad's back was turned but yesterday's overheard conversation was enough to let him know this wasn't a simple query. Despite that, he couldn't lie to his dad.

He bit into his Jaune Special and chewed casually. "Not exactly."

He made eye contact with Jade and broke it just as quickly. Her piercing green eyes always seemed to read his mind. She mercifully didn't pose any questions and continued eating.

His dad wasn't so merciful. "Not a friend from Signal?" He cocked his head, giving his best attempt at looking nonchalant. He turned around and gave him a faux stern look. "Are you going on a date?"

Jaune took a sip of juice while desperately thinking. He couldn't come out and say what he was truly going to do any more than he was willing to lie to his dad's face. In the end, he allowed the blush to creep onto his face. "No, not a date, just hanging out." Not a lie.

"Hanging out with a girl alone in the city isnt a date?" His mother came around the corner putting her hair up.

"No, we're just, y'know, going to wander around a little, find some interesting places. I got a little bored of the usual spots anyways." Not lying, just not telling the entire truth.

"Is one of those 'interesting places' going to be a dark movie theater?"

Jaune's cheeks burned under the insinuation. "Daaaaad!"

"He's just kidding darling." His mom rubbed his hair. "You want me to drop you off?"

_Definitely not. _

"Sure, we're supposed to meet at Vale Central Mall."

They weren't.

"Awesome. Clean up and get in the car, I'll be right there." She headed into the kitchen where his dad was finishing up cooking. She was dressed professionally. _A meeting of some kind. Huh. Wonder what that's about. At least no one's noticed my armor under the hoodie yet._

…

"You buying his story?" Aslan whispered to his wife as he put the pan into the sink to soak. "He's wearing armor under his hoodie for crying out loud."

"No." Jewel shook her head as she fixed her bowl of oatmeal. "But I trust him."

"Armor, Jewel. This isn't a simple date, if the 'friend' is even real. Could he be involved in something dangerous?"

"What? Like working for the mob?" She gave him a sidelong glance. "Seriously?"

He sighed and started filling his plate. "No, and you know what I mean. He just seemingly gave up his dream to be a huntsman. Now he's going into the city, alone and armored, to meet a mysterious person that we have never met before."

She stiffened. "Mercenary work? Do they even hire kids this young? Whatever. Screw the meeting, I'm going to keep an eye on him today."

"I'll call to let the Dean know." He took his plate to the table and started eating. Jewel stared at her bowl, appetite gone in wake of the worry for her only son.

…

_J: Ok, so there's an issue._

_S: How did you manage to mess up before we actually did anything?_

_J: It's nothing serious, but my parents got a bit suspicious. I had to...bend…the truth a little. She thinks I'm going on a date. _

_S: Are. You. Serious. I'm not going to pretend to be your girlfriend!_

_J: No, nothing like that! I'm just going to be dropped off at Vale Central Mall instead. _

_S: And?_

_J: I'm just saying that you might have to wait a bit while I head over. _

There was a pause. Jaune stared at the pages of his Manual, waiting. Inter-Manual Messaging was an extremely nifty feature. It allowed you to send your messages with a more personal touch, allowing feelings and sensations to be attached to messages. It helped convey tone much better.

_Like now, when I can feel her laughing at me while knowing exactly what she thinks of my intelligence. _

_You're only a day-old Wizard. With experience comes knowledge. You'll be flinging fireballs in no time!_

_There are fireball wizardries?_

_No. _

_Oh. _

_Just kidding, there are, but you're a long way from Plasma Containment wizardries. You'll have to practice hard before I allow you to learn anything like that._

_Hey, my silence wizardry yesterday was near flawless. That squeaky stair didn't even make a peep last night._

_That is a fair point, though I'm not convinced how eavesdropping on your parents connects to your Oath but whatever. You apparently have the correct mind for it, but you still require practice. _

A loud pop made him jump. He shot to his feet, looking around for the source before looking outside. He found nothing. He turned around and froze when he saw what was on the ground. A large sheet of paper lay in the center of his room, folded into fourths, with writing all over it.

Writing in the Speech.

Jaune crept closer, as if it was a bomb. _Who knew what the hell kind of spell was on it? For all he knew it was as likely a spell to make a room smell better as it was a spell to turn his room into the inside of the Sun. _

He crouched. He could make out some of the symbols, but anything beyond basic phrases was still out of his reach, rendering the entire spell complete gibberish. His manual gave him a mental ping. A new message.

_S: I just sent you a spell. Use it when you're alone at Vale Central. _

_J: It won't explode?_

_S: Why would it explode?_

_J: No reason. _

A thought struck him.

_J: Why not just send me the spell through the Manual?_

_S: …you wouldn't get it. _

Jaune almost laughed at loud. She was trying to show off! She had tried to hide her emotions from the message, but her inexperience with Manual messaging had made that ineffectual.

_J: Of course. I am after all the newbie and you are my glorious mentor. _

_S: Do you want help getting your sword back or not? I'm taking a sick day for you, you know._

Jaune sobered up.

_J: Of course I do. I'm sorry. _

_S: Whatever. To use the spell, plug your name string into the slot I've left for you. Join the two halves together with a Wizard's Knot to activate it. _

_J: What does the spell do?_

_S: You'll figure it out. _

Jaune licked his lips. He had no idea what a Wizard's Knot was but he figured his Manual would know. The bigger question was whether he was willing to trust Saphie. She was obviously experienced with wizardry, having successfully translocated the paper to the center of his room.

_I don't really have a choice, do I? I can't exactly ask my parents for help on getting Crocea Mors back. _Asking his friends for help was out of the question as he was sure he'd die from the embarrassment of explaining why he didn't' have the sword in the first place. Lying was out of the question entirely.

He heard his mom call out his name downstairs.

_J: Alright, I'm going to head to Vale Central now. See ya in about an hour?_

_S: Or sooner. _

Jaune didn't like the mirth that accompanied the message. _What the hell is this Wizardry anyways?_

…

"She said she'll meet me inside. She's looking at some clothes right now."

"Be safe Jaune. Love you."

"Love you too mom!"

Jaune hopped out of the station wagon and shouldered his backpack. He waved goodbye to his mom and strolled into the busy crowds. The station wagon pulled away from the curb and into the busy afternoon traffic. It wasn't until he lost sight of the old red car did he finally let himself relax.

Instead of risking casting the Wizardry inside a crowded mall bathroom, he would be taking his activity into the alleyways next to the mall.

_Yeesh, almost an innuendo, complete with a bow on top. _Jaune glanced around before proceeding into the alley. The only people back here would workers of nearby stores dumping trash into the dumpsters or delivery trucks. The latter was improbable due to it being 1 in the afternoon, and he would just have to watch out for the former.

He approached the dumpsters and squeezed through the gap between them and the wall, into the unsees area behind. He held his breath at the _absolute_ stench before realizing there was a wizardry he had seen for this too. It was quite simple, a small volume of his definition that only let certain particles through.

Of course, he was nowhere near advanced enough to be choosy on a molecular level but he knew basic chemistry. Small-ish oxygen good, large sulfurous smell chemicals bad. It was simplistic, but it should get the job done.

He pulled a pen and paper from his backpack and started writing the gasmask wizardry. He read through the terms once more, making sure his syntax was proper, his energy budget balanced, and his tone polite. It wouldn't do to accidentally give it too much power and sap all the energy from his body trying to power it.

His definition of the volume was iffy, because he had no idea of how to define volumes yet. Instead, put together a hack that simply took advantage of the fact that one of the variations of his name strings pulled his body shape from reality. He fed this into the volume input of the gasmask wizardry. Extremely inefficient, but he was proud of it as a first attempt at building a wizardry from scratch.

This seemed like the perfect place to use it. He finished writing the wizardry and finished it with his newly learned Wizard's Knot. It was a figure-8 pattern that weaved the two ends of a Wizardry together. It was more elegant than simply attaching the two ends of a wizardry together and somehow made it more efficient to cast. He had no idea how and his Manual's rambling explanation in the car had made no impression.

As he finished the knot, the text of the wizardry glowed, the ink glowing with an inner light. He pulled it up and off the page, watching the gossamer looping text of the Speech peel itself of the page and become part of reality. It was as beautiful and fascinating as the last two times he had done it.

The wizardry, now fully corporeal, lay in his hand looking like a radioactive daisy chain. He took the section of the wizardry that defined the target and attached to his arm, letting the wizardry call his physical body by reference rather than name. Out of every other, this change was the one that his Manual was the most distressed about. He could feel its concern even though it sat closed in his backpack.

The effect was subtle but as he continued to breathe, the stench of the garbage went from gag-inducing to almost unnoticeable. He blinked and looked around, sniffing the air.

_It worked! I'm a genius!_

He could feel the relief radiating from his Manual, followed by copious amounts of pride. _Congrats on your first self-written wizardry Jaune. _

Jaune pumped his fist in the air. _All hail Basics of Computer Science by Watts! That textbook was so much better than history!_

_Speaking of history, I just realized how you're going to remember your first Wizardry. _

_With pride? _

_Depends on if you count dancing behind an overflowing dumpster a prideful moment. _

Jaune's high crashed immediately. _For fu…_

A bang echoed through the alleyway. Jaune flinched at the sudden sound, before realizing it was someone closing a dumpster lid a couple dumpsters down. He pulled out Saphie's wizardry and unfolded the paper. There was the blank space for his name string…and done. Only the wizard's knot remained to activate the wizardry.

Jaune traced the two halves of the complex wizardry, as if his tenth reading would result in a sudden clarity.

_No such luck. Alright, time to see whether Saphie knows what she's doing or if I just signed my one-way ticket into becoming a puff of dust. _

…

It had been a hard few days and his stomach growled mutinously. The last few dumpsters contained nothing but plastic trash.

_Goddamn environmentalists, forcing stores to donate their leftovers. What the hell are we supposed to eat?_

He turned walked towards the next batch of dumpsters when a glint of white caught his eye. Shoes, behind the dumpsters. Shoes he could wear. Or sell.

_Or hell, even eat at this point. _

He squeezed into the gap between dumpsters, his bone-thin body making it easy. He pushed his head the last few inches to get a good look at the shoes on the ground. What he found instead were two blue eyes staring into his.

_There was someone already there!_

A sudden loud pop caused him to flinch and hit his head on the dumpster behind him. He groaned in pain and opened his eyes to find no sign of the either the eyes or the shoes. The area behind the dumpster was as empty as it always was. There was a piece of paper with weird letters that seemed to be…glowing?

He rubbed his eyes. _No, definitely just a normal piece of paper. I'm going friggin mental, gods help me. _

The thoughts of the blue-eyes individual with the white shoes behind the dumpster had already faded from his mind, replaced by the joy of finding half a loaf of bread in the next dumpster down the row. Such was life for a homeless man in Vale.

…

Jaune lay curled up on a wooden floor, desperately trying not to empty his stomach of the half-digested remains of the Jaune Special. He felt a hand on his shoulder and creaked one eye open.

It was Saphie. And she was laughing. Here he was trying not to die and she was _laughing_.

"Congrats on your first translocation experience Jaune!" Her grin was so wide it threatened to escape her face. "I'm glad your trip aboard Saphie Transport was an enjoyable one."

He responded with a sludge of bile and acidic bacon. Her grin was swiftly replaced with a look of horror and disgust and she leapt away, cursing up a storm.

_Now _that_ was enjoyable._

* * *

AN: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this latest part in Jaune's journey. Poor lad can't catch a break from his motion sickness even through wizard transport.

As always, please review, comment, and PM. I love reading them!


End file.
